German transmission system operator (TSO), 50Hertz, and Estonia’s TSO, Elering, have signed a Letter of Intent to jointly develop a hybrid submarine cable project called Baltic WindConnector in the Baltic Sea between Estonia and Germany. The Baltic WindConnector will be around 750 kilometres long an
Norway-based shipbuilding company Vard has signed new contracts for the design and construction of two commissioning service operation vessels (CSOVs) for the UK support vessel operator North Star. The ships are of VARD 4 22 design, produced in collaboration with Vard Design in Ålesund, Norway. The
SMST has been awarded a contract by Damen Shipyards for the delivery of two sets of mission equipment for the two newbuilds Elevation Series Commissioning Service Operating Vessels (CSOVs) for Windcat Offshore. Under the contract, SMST will deliver a gangway (Telescopic Access Bridge L-Series) combi
CNOOD Wechong Heavy Industries (CWHI) has completed Phase I construction of its XXXL monopile facility in Qinzhou Port, Guangxi, China. The new site will have an annual production capacity of 144 XXXL monopiles, which will have a maximum diameter of 15 metres and a maximum weight of 4,500 tonnes, de
The construction of the world’s largest monopile foundation manufacturing plant has begun with the first pile being driven into its position in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The plant will be built at the 62-hectare Maasvlakte 2 site in Rotterdam as an extension of Sif’s existing facilities. The compa
The offshore wind sector must take action to address a rising tide of mechanical breakdown issues, component failures, and serial defects ensuing from the deployment of ever-larger offshore wind, according to GCube Insurance (GCube), an underwriter for renewable energy projects. GCube’s new report,
Global energy major Shell is joining the VindØ consortium which is aiming to take a leading role in developing and building Denmark’s first energy island. The announcement follows the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which Shell signed in June 2022 to join the VindØ consortium. The other consortium
German offshore wind developer RWE and maritime support provider Acta Marine have signed a long-term vessel supply agreement which they say will pave the way for the decarbonisation of offshore wind farm operations. According to the companies, the agreement is to build and operate two ‘green’ servic
UK energy market regulator Ofgem has received the application for an electricity interconnector license for the recently announced LionLink multi-purpose interconnector that will connect the UK and the Netherlands. The application was submitted by National Grid Lion Link Limited for a license that w
Cyan Renewables has signed a letter of intent (LoI) with China-based Cosco Shipping Heavy Industry to build its first Ulstein-design foundation installation vessel (FIV). The vessel will be equipped with a crane of at least 5,000 tonnes, with the design specifically optimised for efficient installat
Oceans of Energy has been awarded the contract for installing and operating offshore solar farm inside the Hollandse Kust Noord offshore wind park being developed by CrossWind, a joint venture between Shell and Eneco. This is set to be the first offshore solar farm in the world to be connected, inst
Ulstein Design & Solutions BV has introduced its patent-pending U-STERN offshore wind installation vessel design for transporting, upending, and installing large monopiles on DP. According to the developer, the U-STERN enables longitudinal storage of monopiles and upending in the ship’s centre line.
Maryland Governor Wes Moore signed the state’s Promoting Offshore Wind Energy Resources Act (the POWER Act) into law on 21 April, thus codifying Maryland’s new 8.5 GW offshore wind target for 2031. The Governor signed the POWER Act at Tradepoint Atlantic in Baltimore County, where he also announced
Siemens Gamesa has revealed its GreenerTower, a wind turbine tower made of more sustainable steel. The company already closed its first order with RWE to feature 36 of the GreenerTower units at the 1 GW Thor offshore wind project in Denmark. Today, tower production accounts for more than one-third o
